Arab Spring Winter
• Daniel Nisman (Wall St. Journal via Google News) on what Hezbollah’s experience in Syria means for Israel:
After witnessing Hezbollah’s ability to capture large swaths of territory in Syria, Jerusalem can no longer shrug off Mr. Nasrallah’s threats to invade Israel’s Galilee region in the next war.
Iran is also likely to continue leveraging the Assad regime to transport weapons to Hezbollah’s coffers, despite threats of additional Israeli airstrikes. Hezbollah’s acquisition of Iranian anti-air, anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles would not only guarantee Mr. Nasrallah long-term military hegemony within and without Lebanon. It would also provide Tehran with a greater deterrent against any future Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities.
• Sectarian street clashes in the Lebanese city of Sidon left one dead as Sunnis and Shiites traded artillery and small arms fire. Details at McClatchy News.
Clashes between Sunni backers of the rebellion and Hezbollah’s supporters have become commonplace throughout Lebanon, but Tuesday’s incidents reflected a major escalation in weaponry and intensity, according to a Syrian aid worker based in Sidon.
• AFP: Egypt’s minister of tourism resigned over the appointment of Adel al-Khayat as governor of Luxor. Khayat is a member of Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, which was responsible for massacring 58 foreign tourists — in Luxor.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• For commentary/analysis on Iran, see Michael Singh, the NY Times, and NBC News.
• CNN reporter Sara Sidner spent a busy day with Shimon Peres. I also liked Jodi Rudoren’s NY Times dispatch from the President’s Conference.
(Image of Dempsey via Flickr/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dollar via Flickr/SqueakyMarmot)
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
Return to Page 1
[sc:bottomsignup]
